DEP intent to issue Air Permit to Fernandina Beach Port operator

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm

Reporter - News Analyst

Clamshell bucket emptying ship hold (www.krupprobins.com)

Kinder Morgan Operating L. P. “C”, Nassau Terminal LLC is proposing to re-purpose the Fernandina Port facility to also allow the handling and transporting of coal.  This operation will consist of trans-loading inbound coal from vessels, via ship mounted clamshell, up to possibly three hoppers and then to truck(s) for offsite delivery, and also trans-loading of coal via clamshell to a barge for temporary storage.  The coal would then be transferred from the barge via clamshell to the hopper(s) and then truck(s) for offsite delivery.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has given notice of its intent to issue an air construction permit to Kinder Morgan for this project.  According to their public notice, “The applicant has provided reasonable assurance that operation of proposed equipment will not adversely impact air quality and that the project will comply with all appropriate provisions of Chapters 62-4, 62-204, 62-210, 62-212, 62-296 and 62-297 F.A.C.  The permitting authority will issue a Final Permit in accordance with the conditions of the proposed Draft unless public comment received in accordance with this notice results in a different decision or a significant change of terms or conditions.”

The Permitting Authority responsible for making a permit determination for this project is the Department of Environmental Protection’s Waste and Air Resource Management in the Northeast District Office. 8800 Baymeadows Way, Suite 100, Jacksonville, Florida 32256-7590. The Permitting Authority’s mailing address is: 8800 Baymeadows Way, Suite 100, Jacksonville, Florida 32256-7590. The Permitting Authority’s telephone number is 904/256-1700.

A complete project file is available for public inspection during the normal business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (except legal holidays), at the physical address indicated above for the Permitting Authority. The complete project file includes the Draft Permit, the Technical Evaluation and Preliminary Determination, the application and information submitted by the applicant (exclusive of confidential records under Section 403.111, F.S.). Interested persons may contact the Permitting Authority’s project engineer for additional information at the address and phone number listed above. In addition, electronic copies of these documents are available on the following web site: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/air/emission/apds/default.asp.

The Permitting Authority will accept written comments concerning the proposed Draft Permit for a period of 14 days from the initial date of publication of this Public Notice. Written comments must be received by the Permitting Authority by close of business (5:00 p.m.) on or before the end of the 14-day period. If written comments received result in a significant change to the Draft Permit, the Permitting Authority shall revise the Draft Permit and require, if applicable, another Public Notice. All comments filed will be made available for public inspection.

As of this writing, the deadline for receipt of comments appears to be September 10, 2014.